Giardini workers led to another defeat by the union

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The following article about the recent strike at the Giardini del Sole
factory in the Philippines is published by the ICC's section
Internasyonalismo

After two
days strike of Giardini[1]
workers led by the union last February 3-4, the union and the leftist party[2]
that control them agreed with the management and local government of Mandaue
City to lift the strike and accept the retrenchment package.

This is
another defeat of the workers who are united to fight and defy capitalist laws to
defend their jobs in the midst of crisis of over-production. Worst, even the
separation pay and back wages that has been promised will depend on the
capacity of the company to "recover" from the crisis[3].

Before the
strike, the union led them to its first defeat by agreeing on the work
rotation. But it was a trap by the capitalist because the real aim of the
latter is to kick them out from the company.

The lessons
of this defeat:

1. For an
effective and powerful resistance against capitalist attacks - redundancies,
work rotation, reduction of working days - united workers must DEFY the
capitalist laws that prevent them to launch strikes and paralyse the production
of the company. For two days strike, Giardini workers defied capitalist laws that
make their struggle effective. Militant Filipino workers in the ‘70s and ‘80s
had many experience of defying the dictatorial and military rule of the state
in launching strikes.

2. Isolated
strike, like what the union did to Giardini workers leads to defeat and
submission to what the bosses and government want. Giardini workers struggle by
defying capitalist laws. But they struggle alone....that's why they were
defeated.

The only
effective militant struggles today are widespread struggles in as many companies
as possible like what happened in Bangladesh textile workers
strike last 2006 or Egypt's textile workers
mass strike in 2006-2007. Only through the extension of struggle to many
factories and companies that the anti-working class laws and the suppressive
apparatus of the state could be prevented.

3. The
workers themselves must be the one to decide and lead their own struggles
through their assemblies and factory strike committees or inter-strike
committees at the city level, at the very least. They must struggle outside the
control of the union or any electoral party of the Right or Left of the
bourgeoisie. Unions and electoral parties in the Philippines are only
interested in the projection of their own organization for more union
membership or electoral gains. As the economic and political crisis worsens as
never before, their competition also worsens. Intense competition within the
unions of Right and Left and electoral parties against each other continue to
grow deeper. Unions and parties prevent the extension and widespread unity of
the workers because it means self-organization of the latter outside the unions
and reformist parties. Most of all, unions already become an appendage of the
state to protect the interests of national capitalism.

4. They must
coordinate their struggle in the international level and learn the experience
of their brothers/sisters in other countries, especially in countries where the
workers have more experience in struggle - Western Europe.
International workers' solidarity is the best weapon to win the struggle
against world-wide attacks of the bosses. Filipino proletariat could learn well
the experience of the militant workers around the world in launching "illegal"
strikes (ie wildcat strikes) which are increasing today and mass meetings or
general assemblies which are the main forms of organization in struggle.

The defeat of
Giardini workers gave valuable lessons to the militant Filipino proletariat in
their future struggles against national capitalism and attacks by their bosses.
With this, the struggle of the workers of Giardini has not been in vain. More
than ever before, the clarion call, "THE EMANCIPATION OF THE WORKING CLASS MUST
BE THE WORK OF THE WORKERS THEMSELVES" is valid and necessary, especially in
the epoch of decadent capitalism where communist revolution is already on the
historical agenda.

[1] Giardini del
Sole, an Italian-owned furniture export company based in Cebu, Philippines. It
has 485 workers. But because of the world crisis, it sacrificed 245 workers by
kicking them out of the street and let them die in hunger.

[2] They are led by
Partido ng Manggagawa (Labor Party), a leftist electoral party.